Market Research and Usability

Market Research will move online as the channel matures

At the start of the "consumer age" - somewhere in the 1950s - there was no market research.  Companies manufactured the products they wanted to create, and sold all they could produce to newly affluent consumers.  Over time, however, competition grew and consumers became more discerning.  Some businesses suffered the shock of developing newer, better products and then discovering that no-one would buy them.  Then, one day, someone had the radical idea developing products around customer needs and preferences, rather than company capabilities and production schedules.  Modern marketing was born, and with it the science of Market Research.

The online marketplace is going through the same evolution, but we are nearer the start of its development.  The majority of websites online today have been built with no market research; they look and operate the way they do because that is what appealed to the web designer.  Just look at how many websites hold you up with a 20-second 'Flash' presentation before you get to the information you want.  Would any retail store make you watch a corporate video before letting you in the front door?

Online Market Research with WebIQ

Market research online mirrors many of the techniques of traditional offline market research.  The unique advantage that online researchers have, however, is that it is possible to inexpensively track and collect large volumes of behavioural data, recording users' actual interactions with a digital interface.

To complement this data, The Usability Company has teamed up with US based Usability Sciences Corporation (USC), one of the pioneers of the software usability field, to bring WebIQ Online Usability Tools to the UK.  These allow attitudinal data to be collected in parallel to behavioural data, by addressing individual users with context-sensitive survey questions as they browse a site.  In essence, WebIQ enables the global distributed focus group!

To learn more about the WebIQ online market research toolset at The Usability Company, please explore the services section of our website.  Alternatively, to discuss how The Usability Company can help you understand who is using your site, what they want and how they value your online brand please call or email us and we will be happy to discuss your requirements.

"The majority of websites online today have been built with no market research; they look and operate the way they do because that is what appealed to the web designer."

 
© The Usability Company 2007